While He Listened to the Cello
by Yosuke
Summary: Hiei's lifelong search is interrupted when he meets a thirteen year old Kurama, who's been having some trouble sleeping... Maybe it has something to do with the demon in his bed. Shounen-ai, rated for violence, sadism.


While He Listened to the Cello…  
Yosuke  
PG-13  
Angst/Drama

JUST AS A NOTE:….

I'm happy ya'll loved my most recent YYH story, "Life Can't Answer Right Now", and I'm so grateful you guys left me such positive reviews, but honestly… I'm at a loss of how to continue it. You asked for a continuation, but I really don't know how! I meant to end the story there, and if I continue, I'm afraid I'll ruin in. If you guys have some suggestions, let me know, please! I'm always open to opinions!

AN: I thought of this story while writing a different story. If you've read my "Life Can't Answer Right Now" story, you'll remember a little dream sequence Kurama had about Youko. That's where I came up with this one and knew I should write it because it wouldn't have fit properly in "Life". So basically, this one is just another concept of how Hiei and Kurama met… kinda... Just read and find out, I guess. Enjoy!

Yu Yu not mine.

* * *

The cellos were faint tonight…

It was the third week… the eighteenth time he had seen something like this… Hiei watched from just outside the window of the bedroom of this person he was currently stalking, peering in through the cold glass and watching silently as the form on the bed began to wake up. It would be morning soon, but something seemed to pain the thirteen-year-old boy who lay under the sheets, groaning as he came to. When he sat up, the sheets fell from his shoulders to his lap, revealing a bare chest and long scratches, _claw-marks_ engraved in his belly. When the boy saw this, his expression turned sad and he turned to stand from the bed and fetch some clothes, currently having none on.

That boy knew what had happened to him… as did Hiei, who was outside the window the entire time it had happened, refusing to leave for some reason he couldn't even identify to himself.

* * *

This city was a new one to Hiei, having traveled from place to place for personal reasons and some secret hunt. Rumors of a hint to what he wanted led him to this place, but he instead found nothing but liars and corpses. His search had come to a halt at that moment as he wondered what area to search out next until he came across a new… very interesting reason to stay just a little longer.

There was a body in the woods. It was the corpse of a demon, very weak and slow, decapitated and disintegrating. At first, it had been nothing to pay attention to until his eyes found the source of this death crossing the roots steadily about a hundred feet ahead. He leapt to the trees and glanced down. It was just a boy, no older than thirteen, carrying his book bag under his arm and trying pathetically to wipe a bloodstain off of his hand and onto his jacket. After a while, he gave up and just continued on down his path, apparently going to school.

Hiei felt intrigued for a moment, unsure of whether it was worth his time to stay and see what this boy was about, but in the end, decided to leave it alone. Humans who could kill demons existed; he was aware of this and didn't care much for the details. What he wanted had nothing to do with this and it was only a waste of time. He left the boy alone, but all throughout the day, he couldn't seem to let go of the image he saw; all it had been was a skinny little Japanese boy with short, red hair and the scent of demon blood on him. What was so capturing about him? Or had he missed something? He knew this wouldn't leave him alone until he investigated further, and carefully hid in the trees as the mysterious boy left school that afternoon and headed home. Hiei saw nothing different, nothing any more special about him. The blood was gone, but that strange presence was still emanating from him.

All the way home, the boy seemed to continuously notice something, stopping occasionally to glance into the trees near him, then resume home. Hiei wasn't nervous about being spotted. The boy obviously seemed stressed out, or secretly frantic, and really just wanted to get to his house. Even if he did spot him, he seemed like no threat at the moment. Not to mention… Hiei could kill him if he wanted to… It was all a matter of swinging the sword.

The redhead finally got home, nearly dashing inside his house as if aware that he was being followed, and rushed to his room. Hiei peered through a few windows. No one else was home. Good. Less people to watch out for.

When the child made it to his room, closing and locking his door, he went to his window and shut the blinds… sloppily. They didn't close all the way, leaving Hiei a crack to look through. The boy seemed at ease once he felt he was alone and safe. He dropped his book bag to the floor and started pulling off his uniform. Hiei wasn't accustomed to peeking in on others like this… It wasn't in his nature. He almost felt the urge to leave, finding himself pathetic for stooping so low, but stopped himself when he glanced in to see the boy once more, his shirt off. Scratches lined his back. Claw marks were dug into his shoulder blades and spine, making the pale skin ugly.

And then he saw the hand.

Hiei's eyes widened when his gaze caught what appeared to be a ghostlike hand, sharp, claw-like nails engraving themselves along some already formed scratches and sliding down them. Then it disappeared.

The demon blinked a little, peering in harder to see if he could catch it again, but nothing was there. When the boy suddenly darted around, Hiei fell back, out of his line of vision.

'What was that?'… Both seemed to think simultaneously.

Hiei remained outside the window, listening every now and then for anything interesting and silently wondering why he was still there. He couldn't seem to put his finger on it, but something kept him around that window, something he wanted to see. What was that hand he had seen? What connection did it have to this scrawny and seemingly normal boy? Every once in a while, he peeked back through the window to see if anything had changed, but it was all the same. The boy was now sitting on his bed (located conveniently near the window), doing his homework in his pajamas. Hiei's eyes scanned the papers. The top read "Minamino Shuuichi". It must've been his name. Shuuichi… What a weirdly unfitting name.

Time passed, the sun went down, and Shuuichi grew tired. He'd remained in his room, whether it was out of fear or habit, Hiei didn't know, and done all his homework while occasionally pulling out Pocky to snack on. When the digital clock by his bed read 12:30, Shuuichi put all his books away, walked out of the room for a moment, then came back in, shut and locked the doors, and crawled into bed. The lights went off, and the boy was fast asleep.

Certainly seemed normal enough… So what was so wrong with him?

A half hour passed. Hiei began to notice the boy's constant moving. Every now and then, he twisted under the sheets, shifted positions, grunted and groaned until he finally sat up and arose from his bed. Fumbling in the dark, he made it to his desk and began pushing buttons on a machine… Hiei could see it perfectly, but had no idea what it was. Finally, music began to play through the room. It was his stereo system. Hiei'd seen them before.

The faint music of a cello drifted into the air, seeming to soothe the redhead as he crawled back under the sheets, setting the control for the stereo on his nightstand and falling back asleep.

It was pleasant, Hiei supposed, to listen to something like that. The cello played a soft tune into the night. When the song audibly ended, it started over again on Repeat mode. The music was drifting and lulling, seeming to capture Hiei in a trance, suddenly forgetting why he was there in the first place and only staring absentmindedly into the room while the deep notes played in his head.

2:00 soon approached and Hiei had yet to leave. He'd forgotten his mission, his point to being there, and simply stayed to listen to the soothing music. His eyes fell on the sleeping form of Shuuichi, who hadn't moved once since first entering slumber. It was all so peaceful… Hiei hardly dared to disturb it by leaving. When the song began to end, Hiei had half a mind to hum along to the finale and start all over again from the beginning… But it didn't go on. When the cello and violin stopped, Hiei shot up. He listened harder, but there was no sound. The stereo system's lights were fading. The numbers flashed a few times before altogether turning off. Disappointment and alertness filled his mind as his eyes searched the room for the disturbance, finding none right away. And then… Shuuichi began to move. He groaned, tossing his head this way and that before subconsciously beginning to kick the sheets away and arching his back off of the bed. Then he let out one long moan and fell back against the mattress, eyes opening tiredly. As he did, Hiei finally saw what was bothering him.

There was a ghost over his bed.

Long-haired and silver. That's all he could gather from the angle he was at as the ghost's form floated horizontally above the boy, silver hair falling in soft wisps as it neared Shuuichi.

Shuuichi looked scared. He was fully awake now, staring almost hopelessly up at the creature above him. He mouthed something out, but Hiei didn't catch it. Finally, arms reached for the boy, long pale fingers touching his neck and making Shuuichi shiver.

Then Hiei remembered. Hiei recognized this creature. Silver and white, long hair and a long fox tail with fox ears, always clad in the white robes. How could he possibly let the name slip past him?

It was Youko Kurama.

Hiei was enthralled with the sight as Youko lowered himself to somewhat half-straddle and half-lay on Shuuichi, gravity finally seeming to apply to him. The slim hands constantly touched the boy, one falling on his chest while the other his face. His lips turned up into a sneer, watching him perpetually with those pretty golden eyes that had started rumors all on their own.

Hiei was at a loss, watching from the window, silent as the night around him, speculating this whole event and wondering… Why was Youko there? Youko Kurama had been a renowned thief, godlike in appearance and more than just a little talented. After his disappearance, no one knew what had happened to him except for the small rumor of being killed by a hunter. So, why here? Why now?

Youko's ghostly hands had started slipping in the gaps between each of the buttons on Shuuichi's pajama top. One sharp nail would play with the threads of the button before pulling hard enough that the string would snap and the shirt started falling open. Shuuichi was still up until that point, where he twisted violently and rolled onto his side, hugging his arms. "Stop it! Stop!" Hiei could hear him say this a few times before Youko continued his antics, claws settling on Shuuichi's bare stomach and lightly scraping down with tips of his nails. They left small red traces in their wake, and Shuuichi visibly shivered and fought to crawl to the very edge of the bed and pull up the covers. Youko didn't allow it. He threw the sheets back again, clear off the bed, and lowered his head to brush his lips over the boy's. The redhead, now on his back, almost seemed to sob as he jerked his head to the side. "Leave me alone…"

"Shuuichi," Youko whispered out, turning the boy's head back to his and successfully planting a small kiss on his mouth. Shuuichi almost whined.

"Stop…"

But Youko's hands refused to cease as they reached to his sides and started scratching up along his hips. Instinctively, Shuuichi twitched and rose somewhat off the bed, then even more so as the claws dug under him and onto his back. Hiei could see the sudden strain of muscles in his lowers arms as Youko forcefully dug the claws deep into the boy's human skin and dragged them upwards along his hips. Shuuichi fought not to cry out as his back arched more and more. His hands clung to the bed sheets, his head pressing back into his pillow as his expression turned more and more pained. And then, all at once, the fox stopped, letting Shuuichi drop back onto the bed with blood tinting the sheets below him.

"I'm here, Shuuichi. I'm right here." And then he was gone. Youko Kurama vanished as ghostly as he had appeared. And on the bed, Shuuichi remained with the claw marks still dug into his skin. His breathing was heavy, then he finally let out a pained sob and sat up. Hiei caught a glimpse of the damage. Scratches were dug so deep into his flesh, he wondered vaguely if they would ever heal properly.

As the boy stood, the demon saw him wince in pain as he staggered to his desk, turning his stereo back on and pulling his bloody pajama top off. When he turned to head for his bureau, his green eyes caught a glimpse of something black and white in the window. Curious, he walked to it, opening the curtains to peer out in the night sky. Nothing. He figured it to have been just a passing shadow from a bird and quickly closed the curtains again, putting on a clean shirt and clumsily pulling the stained bed sheets from the mattress. He sniffled a little as he walked out of his bedroom with the sheets in his arms.

Hiei sat atop the roof, staring up into the sky and contemplating what he just saw. "Youko Kurama… He's here." Hiei closed his eyes and tried to envision the creature again. Yes, just like he'd heard from legends. What a wonder he was… Hiei stood, done with watching for the night and ready to head off somewhere else. And as he leapt from the roof and into the surrounding trees, he began to hum the tune that wondrous cello had made.

* * *

The next night he came back, witnessing Shuuichi taking a long, lonely trip from school back to his home. He remained outside his window once again, watching in through a crack in the curtains as Shuuichi went through the same routine as the night before. Tonight, however, he seemed a little less eager to get to bed. Hiei was under the impression that the night before hadn't been the first night the boy had experienced this phenomenon with Youko's ghost, presuming that was what he was. He had seen some scratches on the boy's shoulders before when he had changed for bed. This night, when he changed, Hiei could clearly see every mark Youko had left. The scars were still deep and it hurt for Shuuichi to move.

When the thirteen-year-old sank into his bed, the sheets drawn up tight, the demon could see the look of nervousness on his face. The boy was probably very paranoid at that point. Where was his mother, Hiei wondered? Surely, he had to live with some parental units. Someone had to have seen his scars at this point.

The cello played over the stereo system lazily, once again lulling Shuuichi to sleep. Hiei remained attentive though, waiting and counting how many times the song played before Youko finally emerged. The stereo died along with music as Hiei counted 47.

It was like a haunting right out of a movie the way Youko moved and touched Shuuichi, once again pulling his shirt open and running his claws harshly down some part of his torso. This time, it was his chest, splitting flesh all the way from his neck down to his lower ribs. And as soon as he was done, the fox leaned down once to lick one long wound all the way up, then disappeared slowly. Shuuichi was left alone, once again, fighting back the urge to scream as he climbed up from his bed and went through fixing everything.

'Why 47?' Hiei wondered as he leapt to the roof then out into the trees.

* * *

Night after night, Hiei came back to wait for Youko Kurama and to watch poor Shuuichi sleep. Each night, the fox returned after the song had played for a 47th time, shutting off the power to the stereo and laying down to torture his human more. Shuuichi gained scars along his abdomen, his chest, his back, reopening the olds ones on his shoulders, and all down his arms. Once the torso was covered, Youko's hands found his legs and left long, crooked, red marks down his thighs and calves. It was a wonder that the boy hadn't bled to death already. Hiei knew that there had to be more to him than he thought, until he finally realized… Perhaps the reason the boy was still alive and carried Youko's spirit with him was not because he was being possessed… but was, instead, Youko Kurama himself!

Hiei knew it was a long shot to even consider, but perhaps something of those rumors he'd heard was true, and Youko had simply been reborn or reincarnated.

On the nineteenth night of staying outside his window, watching, waiting for Youko Kurama to come out, Hiei finally decided to get some answers. He waited until Shuuichi lay soundly asleep in bed, the music of the cello nearing it's 45th round. The fire demon hovered closer to the window, reaching up carefully and removing the blindfold that covered his Jagan Eye. Opening it, he shot his improved sight through the room, landing on Shuuichi and quickly forcing himself into his mind. When Hiei felt like he could enter, his questions sought answers, trying to find what he needed to know to satisfy his curiosity. And then something struck him, hard.

Hiei fell back, his invading vision destroyed like it had been slashed in half. Someone had put a barrier up in Shuuichi's mind. That was what had struck him. Hiei grunted and glimpsed back through the window.

The music played for the 46th time.

Hiei tried again, desperate to get in and see what Shuuichi's mind held, but was once again pushed away. The aura of that barrier… had not been spiritual or human. It was demonic. Youko Kurama had put up that shield. Youko Kurama was keeping Hiei, _everyone_ out of his human's mind. Hiei growled and replaced the cloth on his forehead. It was no use to keep trying like that.

47.

Youko's ghostlike form appeared above Shuuichi's sleeping body, but rather than moving straight to touch the boy, the fox remained still. Hiei also noticed that Shuuichi had not moved or stirred from his sleep in the least. And the music… it was still playing.

Youko's head turned to look coldly at the window, straight into Hiei's red eyes. The fire demon didn't budge and stared back fully. The golden eyes pierced through him, watching him almost like he were sending a silent dare, then he smiled and glimpsed back down at the redhead sleeping peacefully. Something seemed to move Youko at the sight of his human at such peace. He reached a hand down to touch his face once, then disappeared quietly. Hiei was surprised at that, even more so at how the music kept playing. Why hadn't it stopped?

After several long moments of silence, Shuuichi began to stir, eyes slowly opening little by little to meet the dark of his room and the utter silence. He braced himself for the pain, for Youko, but upon inspecting his body with his hands beneath the sheets, he realized that he was unharmed (besides the injuries he had received from nights before). His eyes went a little wide then, lifting himself up to look down for himself. Not a single new scratch. Hiei expected to see a look of confusion on the boy's face, but rather saw… a look of relief. A small, timid smile crossed his features, one the demon saw a million nights of wishes and hopes sweep through.

For a moment, the human was still, his smile slowly fading. Finally, he looked up towards the window. Hiei didn't move. If Shuuichi's first guess had been to look towards the window, then it wasn't coincidence. Youko told him to. A human alone couldn't have guessed an otherworldly creature was just outside his room. Shuuichi knew he was there. Hiei had no reason to run now.

The boy slowly stood from his bed, eyes never leaving the window. He padded quietly to the pane and slowly, cautiously opened the curtains. Shuuichi wasn't shocked or scared when he saw the dark figure just outside on the sill. He'd probably seen so much scary shit in his life, so many horrible things, done so many terrible deeds that the simple sight of a demon outside his window probably wouldn't affect him too badly.

For a long moment, they only stared at each other, green clashing with red, bodies still, contemplating each other and figuring out what move to make next. It seemed to take an eternity before Shuuichi's hands finally went for the lock and quickly undid it, pulling gently at the doors. A chilly breeze greeted him as he finally came face-to-face with his stalker. He smiled a little. "You kept the music playing."

Hiei said nothing.

"Would you like to come in?" Shuuichi stepped to the side, offering space for the demon to pass, but Hiei made no movement to enter. The boy tried to seem as welcoming as possible. "You must know I'm alone. It won't hurt to come inside for a little bit."

He still didn't look convinced, so Shuuichi thought to argue more, but finally Hiei made the slow movements of stepping inside. Shuuichi waited until he was completely in before shutting the window. When he looked back in, Hiei stood in the middle of the room, staring in one particular direction. Shuuichi followed his gaze and smiled inwardly. Hiei was watching the stereo system's display. Digital bars on the front panel moved to the rhythm of the music, bouncing up and down at the slightest noise.

Shuuichi stepped closer to the demon. "Thank you."

Hiei glanced over his shoulder at him but said nothing.

"You know how Youko comes at night."

Nothing.

"He's here every night to see me and…" Shuuichi died off in his words, glancing at the floor, almost in shame. "…He does what he does to me to try to prove a point."

"I didn't ask," Hiei suddenly cut in, looking back at the stereo. Shuuichi fell silent as Hiei walked to the machine and pushed the power button, shutting the music off instantly. He remembered seeing Shuuichi use the system before from looking in on him. He knew what button did what by then.

The human remained silent for a long while, finally causing Hiei to sigh and turn to look at him. "I just don't want to listen to you talk."

"I understand. Most demons don't." Shuuichi tried to force a smile out, but failed and moved back to sit on his bed. As he did, Hiei approached him and stared him down. Shuuichi, in turn, gazed back, unsure of what was going on and not really feeling moved to stop it.

Hiei's fix on the boy's eyes remained intent as the demon began probing his mind, sending himself in and listening to all the answers he needed to hear. Shuuichi immediately became aware of what was going on and kept still, definitely not wanting to disrupt the demon standing only one foot away from him.

_"Go away."_

_"Can't learn to accept me, can you?"_

_"It's 'cause you're not real. You're the ghost of a demon."_

_"I'm here. I'm real."_

_"No, you're not!"_

_"And I'm you."_

_"No, you're not!"_

_"This body, the one you claim so desperately for yourself, is just the product of a reincarnation. We're a merging, you and I."_

_"No!"_

_"When I had to run, I ran here, in you. Now this body belongs to both of us."_

_"Stop it, that's not true! This is **my** body! Mine! You don't belong here!"_

_"Well, you don't like to share, do you? It's not like you have a choice here. You can't exactly just kick me out."_

_"They have rituals for this sort of thing. An exorcism or something."_

_"And how well do you think that'll work? I'm not a ghost, Shuuichi. I'm a demon. A living, breathing demon."_

_"How can you be? You're dead."_

_"Reincarnated."_

_"Same difference."_

_"Listen, I've claimed this body. You can t get rid of me. Just accept it."_

_"I can certainly try!"_

_"And what can you do? You're just a human, after all."_

_"If I'm _just_ a human, why did you choose me? Why not someone else? Someone stronger? Someone able to accept something like this?"_

_"You are strong. You're strong, just like me."_

_"No!"_

_"Just. Like. Me."_

_"Stop it!"_

_"I'm going to stay here, Shuuichi, with you, for as long as you're alive, and when you die, guess what? I'll be me again. I'll be restored to how I originally was. I'll be Youko Kurama once again."_

_"Then just kill me. Kill me and put me out of this pain."_

_"It's not that simple, Shuuichi."_

_"Why?"_

_"It just isn't. Trust in me, Shuuichi."_

_"Trust a demon? A demon, the things I've been killing for years now all due to the biddings of **you**?"_

_"They're not my biddings and you damn well know it. You only fight for your weakened mother. Nothing more."_

_"Shut up."_

_"Shuuichi, I won't tolerate this. I won't tolerate this disrespect and disregarding. You're mine now. I own this body as well as you."_

_"Leave me alone, please…"_

_"I'll prove it to you, boy. I'll prove I have power over this body. Will you be happy then?"_

_"… Stop it…"_

_"I'll come out and show our physical bonding."_

_"No!"_

_"You hear this cello music playing? Every time you play it, I'll be here to hurt you."_

_"Then I'll just stop listening to it!"_

_"But you can't, can you? You love this music. You'll listen to it every night just because of how much you love this song. It puts you to sleep at night. You couldn't possibly get rid of it."_

_"…stop… please…"_

_"Are you crying? Are you crying, Shuuichi? Oh, poor child. Have I hurt your feelings?"_

_"Fuck you! Fuck you!"_

_"Good night, Shuuichi. Sleep well and here I come."_

_"No! No, don't! Stop it! No, please!"_

When the feeling of that violet trail left his mind, disappearing altogether to return to Hiei, Shuuichi's shoulders slumped and he fell backwards onto his bed, staring at the dark ceiling. The recurrence of those memories began to overwhelm him as he fought the urge to cover his face with his hands just to hide from Hiei's scrutinizing gaze. But Hiei held no emotions in his eyes. He looked no differently at Shuuichi than he had before and merely stood there, taking in what he had just learned.

"Why 47?" he suddenly asked, catching Shuuichi off-guard. He knew what he meant, though.

"Youko said every time I play my song, he'd appear. That was on a night I had trouble sleeping, so I had put the song on repeat and tried to drift off to that. It was on the 47th time the song had played he appeared. I thought he had meant every time I play the song once, he would come, but he had actually meant _that specific time_ the song played." Shuuichi chuckled a little. "I guess he likes to be rather literal."

"Hn," Hiei sounded softly, looking off out the window. Shuuichi glanced up at him.

"Thank you, though. You kept the music playing tonight. You kept him from hurting me."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did. By being there, you disrupted him and made him lose his timing."

Hiei looked back at the boy.

"It's always in particular parts of the song he reaches down to touch me, and other parts of the song he hurts me. Everything's in a pattern. Everything's in a rhythm." The human shrugged a little. "It's his way of playing with me. It's his own song."

Hiei said nothing.

"…What's your name?" the redhead inquired, sitting up and watching the demon intently.

"…Hiei."

"Hiei," Shuuichi tested it out and smiled. "Hiei."

"Stop that," he quickly commanded, unused to having his name spoken so many times by someone he intended to let live. Shuuichi fell silent, then chuckled a little.

"You're antisocial, aren't you?"

"_What_ gave it away?" asked Hiei, voice dripping in sarcasm. Shuuichi laughed again.

"You don't like being here. You don't like talking to me like this. You're here just out of your own curiosity." Silence. "Or is it because Youko was here?"

"I didn't even know Youko Kurama was here when I first saw you."

"So you _were_ the one following me after school on those few days."

"You killed a demon. I wanted to know who you were."

Shuuichi's head cocked to the side a little, and Hiei quickly turned away.

"Listen, I found out who you are, so I'll be on my way now."

"You don't know my name."

"Shuuichi," Hiei spoke softly, turning back to him. "I knew it from the first day I came and looked in through your window. It was written on your papers. Not to mention I just heard it in your head."

"That's not _this_ body's name."

Hiei was confused.

"Youko Kurama fled from danger a long time ago and hid in a woman, my mother. He incarnated himself into her unborn child and merged our souls into this one body. The woman named her child Shuuichi, the child she and the man she loved conceived. This merged form is not her child alone. This merged form is a combination of Youko Kurama and Shuuichi. This merged form is named Kurama."

Hiei stared into the green eyes, noticing there sudden intensity as the recognition of both souls came into focus, bearing forth the real form that sat in front of him, the thirteen-year-old body of Kurama, the merged human and demon. And for all of this sudden explanation and despite the heated argument he'd heard in Kurama's head scant minutes ago, the redhead seemed rather proud of his title.

Hiei watched Kurama for a moment longer before giving a "Hn" and walking towards the window. He carefully opened the glass doors while Kurama stood from his bed and walked to his stereo. Hiei heard a button being pushed, and then the cellos started playing again. "Hiei… Could you stay a little longer?"

Hiei glanced back at the boy. It was Shuuichi talking now, his personality stepping forth in that timid, boyish way.

"Just until I fall asleep. You made sure Youko didn't hurt me. If you could just… do that one more time…"

'47 times,' Hiei quoted in his mind. After a moment of contemplation, he shut the window and walked to the foot of the bed. "Fine," he said quietly, hauling himself up to sit on the edge of the mattress and cross his arms, closing his eyes. Kurama smiled softly and climbed back under the sheets.

"Thank you."

* * *

Several moments passed. Within that small slip of time, Kurama had easily fallen asleep. Hiei had guessed that Kurama probably hadn't gotten much sleep due to Youko's constant interference, not to mention he was probably in so much pain from all the wounds he received.

Somewhere around 4:30 in the morning, Hiei felt himself start to drift off into sleep. His head dropped every now and then, quickly shooting back up at the realization of sleep taking him over. Shaking his head violently, he looked at the sleeping form huddled under the sheets, breathing quietly and shifting every once in a while. Hiei's face was expressionless, though rather consumed in the sight of such a pretty human sleeping so peacefully. But he wasn't even human, was he?

Hiei's head turned towards the stereo, wondering how many times the song had played. He had lost count somewhere along the line, but didn't care much. He'd stay for a little longer, then leave and assume Youko wouldn't show.

The song played to the end… then started again. As soon as it did, Hiei knew that was the 47th time it had played. Immediately, as soon as that crescendo began, Youko's presence became known. The demon energy built just like before until he manifested himself into that ghostly form he always appeared in.

The moment he was in sight, the silver head turned and those piercing golden eyes darted to Hiei, watching him with a sly little smile on his face. "Hiei."

"Youko Kurama," Hiei responded, tensing up. Youko chuckled.

"My human's already taken a liking to you."

"It's because I kept your perverted hands off of him for one night," Hiei said sharply, closing his eyes again and relaxing.

"Is that so?" the silk voice purred, the fox moving closer to the fire demon. Hiei didn't move.

"I'd rather you didn't touch him tonight. He's trusting me to keep you away."

"And what do you owe him?"

Hiei looked at him. "Nothing. You just disgust me."

Youko let out a laugh, his head falling back. Hiei growled and closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the other demon in hopes of perhaps falling asleep again.

It was silent for a long moment before Youko let out a content sigh. "Leave Shuuichi to me. Don't bother him in matters that involve me."

"Than just go away and I won't."

"Are you on his side?" Youko questioned, nearing him more.

"Hn," Hiei sounded quickly. "I just find perverted, cowardly demons like you a nuisance, even when they're bothering someone else."

"Is that so?"

Hiei sensed a sudden shifting in energy and shot his eyes open quickly, looking towards the fox to suddenly find him a lot closer than before. The silvery ghostlike form was right before him, pressing a soft, very small kiss to his lips. Hiei blinked in surprise as the fox backed away.

"Guess I need to stay on your good side then… Hiei," Youko teased and disappeared.

Hiei stared into space after, watching where the thief had disappeared into after such a surprising attack. 'He **is** a pervert…' the demon thought in the back of his mind as his attention drew to young Shuuichi, sleeping silently beneath the covers. After a moment, Hiei stood and walked to the side of the bed Kurama was closest to and stared down at his face. No denial… Kurama was very pretty. Someone like that, he imagined in the near future, could be mistook for a female. If his hair grew longer, anyway… Right then, the only faint familiarity Kurama had to his masculinity was his short hair. That was about it. No strong features, no broad shoulders, no visible muscle… Hiei's hand reached out to touch Kurama's shoulder, pulling back the covers and some of the boy's shirt. The skin was flawed. Scratches lined the flesh, going downward to stripe his arm.

While he listened to the cello, that repetitive, pointless, crescendo and decrescendo-lined tune, flowing into his head and messing up his thoughts, Hiei could not imagine Youko once. He could not see Youko Kurama in this thirteen-year-old boy, forcing him to fight and kill demons, tormenting his mind and body… Hiei just couldn't see an innocent child like that holding a weapon… though… he hadn't been so different from this thought himself when he was a child…

The song neared the end, and as it did, Hiei leaned down over the sleeping form and pressed his lips to Kurama's half-bare shoulder in not so much as a kiss but more like an affectionate movement to see if he could feel the small bit of humanity left in this body.

Everything, the taste, the smell, even the heartbeats all came out human. Hiei's head moved to kiss one of the scars on his arms. Nothing demonic. All human. It may have been the overpowering smell of blood, Shuuichi's blood that disguised the demon scent of Youko's clawed hands, but in the end, it still felt human to him.

Hiei remained there for a moment more, taking in what it felt like to have a human so close without having to kill him, then lifted himself from the boy and went to the stereo. He watched the digital bars on the display panel, the numbers of the time left in the song counting down.

00:05, 00:04, 00:03, 00:02…

'I'll stop the music tonight,' Hiei thought, feeling something possessive wash over him.

00:00

Hiei pushed the power button. The music discontinued.

The sun would be up in a matter of hours and Hiei had to leave. His search for what he had wanted before had come to a temporary halt… But he'd have to continue sometime… He hated looking for it… for her… He hated looking because everywhere he had went he came up empty-handed and disappointed, sorrow clutching him at the idea of his little sister out there somewhere, hurt and perhaps waiting for him.

But had he necessarily come up empty-handed this time?

Hiei looked at the bed where Kurama still slept soundly. Hiei'd found a human… If he stayed any longer, he'd end up in a tug-o-war with Youko over possession of this human. The demon mentally kicked himself and went to the window. His search would continue for now, but when he had waited long enough and still hadn't found his goal, he'd be back here to see Kurama again…

'Maybe then he'll actually look more like a boy…' Hiei shook his head and opened the window, stepping out into the chilly night and scanning the trees for a good spot to jump to.

Hiei would be back, sooner or later. He'd be back to see Kurama once again… and perhaps watch him sleep once more while he listened to the cello.

* * *

Ze end

* * *

AN: Sappy ending. And what's with me and having all my stories' ending lines the title of the fic? Egh… I think it's a good style… I guess I won't complain. Anywayzuz, whaddya'll think? Too fluffy? Too abusive? To cello-y? You decide and lemme know. The reviews you guys leave me shall sculpt my future fics! Anything will do! Go nuts!

Now, make a small, starving and uneducated child in some third world country happy by leaving me a review!


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